


Love and Leather

by Zulable



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, BDSM, Blood and Violence, Bondage, Dom/sub, Drama, F/M, Humiliation, Mutual Masturbation, Oral Sex, Painplay, Romance, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sensation Play, Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut, Spanking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:22:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zulable/pseuds/Zulable
Summary: Celes is everything Levi can't stand: overconfident, reckless, and unpredictable. Levi is everything Celes can't help but be attracted to: Strong, rude, and mysterious. When Celes's carelessness causes a mission to fall apart, nearly getting her squad killed, Levi is tasked with her punishment. Too bad for him, Celes more than likes it.(P.S Everyone in this is time-skipped, we love chin-haired Jean.)Same story is on Wattpad too, same username!
Relationships: Erwin Smith & Original Female Character(s), Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

If they left now, Sasha would die.

They were on patrol in the forest, clearing out a cluster of titans who were heading toward the wall. A few of them were no problem, not usually. But these were abnormal, and the amount they traveled in would do devastating damage to the wall. And from the way the smaller ones were climbing the trees to get a chance at the squad, Celes figured it was only a matter of time before they learned how to get over the wall, inside the district.

They started at night when most of the titans were asleep. So they traveled quietly, careful to slow and creep behind a titan and make quick work of them, so they didn’t wake any nearby.

But as they moved, Celes realized Sasha was no longer behind her. Celes had scanned the trees and spotted Sasha on a dangerously low and thin branch, signaling her gas was out. Which was wrong. They all should have full tanks, but the thought was pushed to the side. Sasha was more important than the oddity.  
Eren, a few paces in front of her, paused on the tree Celes hung from. The squad might not have noticed Sasha’s disappearance, but Eren? Humanities last hope? The entire team came over in moments, hanging at the trees where Celes and Eren spoke. 

A crack snapped in the air. The branch Sasha stood on was breaking. The titan sleeping below it stirred, a giant eye-popping open. Shit.  
Joss, Cele's squad captain, and pain in her ass found a place beside Levi, who approached Eren.

Levi, the captain Celes wished she was assigned to, for she wanted someone with working brain cells to lead, asked, his voice tight with annoyance. “Why have you stopped?”

Eren pointed toward Sasha. “Her gas is out. We have to get her.”

But the titan below her woke, tilting its head and when it found a meal, it immediately set to scraping at the bark, attempting to climb. Sasha held a hand to her chest. Another titan, larger, taller, peaked from around a tree. Another crawled toward the growing noise.

Joss, the red-haired coward, said, “Sunrise will be here soon and look, she’s already gathered the attention of three. Only a matter of time before the group of ten we passed will overtake her. We need to go before they come for us. The horses are tired; they won’t be able to outrun them back to the walls.”

Celes said, too loudly to be safe, “And abandon a comrade? What kind of captain are you?”

She knew the comment would earn her punishment. Disrespect of any kind was cause for it. A direct insult and challenge of authority? Well, Joss didn’t have any particular warmth for her anyway, so she knew he would recommend the harshest punishment if he didn’t inflict it himself.

“We go there, and we compromise us all,” he said, and Celes looked back to see another titan walk toward Sasha. Her heart stuttered. “Let’s go, now.”

“Then go, you coward,” Celes spat. 

She wasn’t precisely careful in general with her attitude, which is the reason why she was put in Joss’s spineless squad. She was better than nearly all the soldiers; she thought she could take even Mikasa. She’d already almost broke Eren’s arm in a mock bottle. But she figured, the better she did, the more expectations would fall on her, so she held back and was ranked sixth. Which still would have put her under Levi or Hanges command, but because of her growing list of transgressions, they’d stuck her under Joss.

This mission was dangerous, so of course, Joss has asked to be assisted by Levi’s squad, but he really wanted Levi and his team to do all the work. But Celes hoped during the mission, if she did well enough, Levi would allow her to join his squad. Or at least see her capabilities and recommend her to work under Hange, a woman Celes had the utmost respect for.

Now both those options were out the window.

“Wait till we get back,” Joss snapped, red-faced, “I’ll have your ass for this.”

Levi, who moved so quickly it was a blur, gripped Joss’s neck in his heavily scarred hands. Joss’s feet failed, his eyes began to bulge, and he could only gasp as he clawed at Levi’s unmoving fingers.

“Shut up,” Levi whispered, “or you’ll attract more attention.”

Another snap cracked through the air. Celes whirled, finding Sasha clinging to the tree's bark as the branch she stood on bent, nearing breaking completely. Another titan, armless and stumbling, joined the others.

Sasha would fall. The titans would eat her. It was only seconds away from happening.

Celes didn’t think. She pointed her grappling hooks toward her best friend and took off. The titans were too excited with Sasha to see her continue her quick pace. They only made strangled noises, wrestling with each other trying to be the one on top, with their mouths open and ready to eat Sasha.

The branch snapped. Sasha’s body fell forward. Celes’s heart was unreadable.

Her body collided with Sasha’s.

She wrapped her arm around Sasha. Sasha quickly gauged the situation and wrapped her arms and legs like a monkey around Celes, so Cele's hands remained free as she used the grappling hooks to move them further away.

They landed on a sturdier, higher branch.

Celes breathed a sigh of relief. Sasha screamed. Celes spun, and an oversized Titan, the face the size of half a house, smiled at them. She grabbed Sasha, ready to throw them off, and remembered the Titans below. Her mind couldn’t move fast enough. All she could think was to grab her weapons, but the titan neared.

If Celes hadn’t heard the grabbling hook being released, she wouldn’t have known they had back up. The movement was too quick. The human moved in a blur, such a haze of speed Celes wasn’t sure they were human.

The sound of metal sinking through flesh screeched through the air. Blood spurted around them. The titan fell in one fast swoop.

Levi stood by them, yanking Sasha by the collar. He shoved her at Celes, who barely caught her. She was in such a daze. Levi, his eyes heated, and Celes swore the color swirled, like melting silver, met Cele's gaze. “Take her and run. Now.”

His voice was as sharp as his bloodied weapon. Celes had never followed orders faster. She grabbed Sasha and went off, moving around where she knew titans waited and toward the horses. Guilt bled through her. She wanted to help. She wanted to kill titans. Her friends were back there, risking their lives, and she was running away.

But Sasha was her best friend. And she would deal with being a coward if it made sure Sasha was safe. 

They got to the clearing where soldiers waited with their horses and carts for supplies…or dead bodies. One of them rushed them. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” Celes let the blonde take Sasha off her numbing arm. “she ran out of gas, and I think she’s in shock. Put her in the cart.”

He nodded, and Celes started for the forest to see if she could help, but Sasha called her name. Celes turned and frowned. “What?”

“You saved me.”

“I did.”

“You’re going to get in so much trouble.”

Celes shrugged, but it felt heavier. This was different. Even Celes knew. She’d acted on her own during a mission, denied and disrespected her commanding officer, and because Levi was there, she knew Joss would proclaim her disobedience was toward them both. Which, she guessed, was true.

But she looked at Sasha’s big, kind eyes, still kind despite the world they lived in, and figured it was worth it.

Until two soldiers came, holding a one-armed Joss who’s left side was coated in blood. He was cursing, crying, and when he spotted Celes, he fought the holders' grip and looked like a titan trying to attack her.

“You bitch,” he screamed, “you did this. You’ll pay. You hear me?” he shouted as they placed him in the cart with Sasha. “You’ll fucking pay.”

One of the higher-ranking soldiers came to Celes and said, “You’re to head back with us, now.”

Celes closed her eyes. She took her breath and embraced what she thought would be the last bit of fresh air she’d get in a while.  
-  
When Celes woke, it was with a throbbing headache and pulsing vision. She brought a hand to the back of her head and felt the large, raw lump there, and sucked in a gasp. The memory of her jumping into the cart, dozing off, and Joss cursing and slamming something hard at the side of her skull appeared. And then black overtook everything.

She was in a cell. She would have guessed it even with her eyes closed. The air was chilly, and the stone floor was frigid. And it smelled of too much disinfectant as if the previous captive bled everywhere and someone took care to remove the stains from the bare room. They probably had.

Celes ignored her headache and stood, gripping the metal bars in front of her. With nothing else to do, she started shouting. She screamed for someone to let her out, which she knew they wouldn’t do, but she needed someone to come down and tell her how long her sentence was. She couldn’t stand staying in the near dark and not knowing what to expect.

A guard opened a door from the top of the stairs, letting enough light Celes blinked as the figure kneeled, peering down and catching Celes’s eye.

“Hey,” Celes shouted at him, “get down here. Talk to me. Wait—“

The guard stood, shut the door, and left.

Well. That was rude.

So she started screaming again. Until her throat went raw, and her fingers began to numb as she tightened her grip on the bars as if she could pull them apart herself. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, if it was hours or just one. So she kept on going, just in case.  
The door opened again.

“Finally,” Celes complained, “how long does it take to get some service here?”

The guard sucked his teeth, appearing across from Celes. Only, this wasn’t a guard. It was Levi, a long gash at the side of his face. Eyes narrowed, trained on Celes who fought not to back away like the coward she suddenly felt like.

She knew he was called humanity's strongest soldier for a reason. Knew whatever she got away with wouldn’t fly with Levi. Or that whatever punishment she received from Joss couldn’t be half as dire as whatever Levi would force upon her.

“I’ve been told you’ve been screaming for over an hour. Does your throat not hurt?”  
“It’s a talent, really—“

His hand shot through the bars, catching her neck in a vise-like grip. He slammed her head against the bars as he brought her close to him. “You nearly got us all killed.” He said, and his deep, oddly calm voice brought the hairs on her arms up. “You acted on your own, stupidly, selfishly, and now two of my men are in the infirmary, and your captain is armless.”

“Well,” Celes breathed, uselessly trying to move a fingertip off but his grip was too tight, “losing Joss isn’t exactly a hit to the military.”

He slammed her face again, and she grit her teeth. “Say something smart again and see what happens,” he dared.

And Celes was smart enough to remain quiet as her vision tried to stop spinning.

“I’ve heard about you,” he said, his lips nearing the bars, “heard about your recklessness, your disobedience. And if Stone couldn’t beat you into submission, that’s on him. But you risked my squad, my people, and that’s a problem. Are you understanding?”

Celes nodded.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself? Perhaps if you fixed those lips to apologize, your punishment wouldn’t be as harsh.” He coked his head, his hair dangling above his undercut. “Do you even have it in you to apologize? Or do you not care for the lives around you?”

He let her go, and her legs buckled. She nearly fell as she held a hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath. It was as if his hands were still around her neck. Or he had permanently tightened her airways, and they’d never expand again.

“I’m not sorry,” she spat out, knowing it was stupid but unwilling to stop herself. Levi’s eyes narrowed even more, and she was glad she fell too far for him to grab her. His fingertips twitched at his sides like he meant to, only this time to snap her neck. “Why would I be sorry about wanting to save my friend?”  
The twitch in his hands stopped.

She went on, “Joss doesn’t care about Sasha, or me, or any of us. He’s not like you. Not like a captain who cares if their members live or die. He should have been keeping track of us, maintaining our equipment. If he did, Sasha wouldn’t have run out of gas, or he’d have caught when she stopped saved her, we could have all moved on. If your leadership is off, everyone suffers. So yeah, I’m sorry people got hurt but fuck Joss, but I’d rather die than abandon a comrade. And I’d do it again.” 

She sucked in a breath. Her passions took over, and she couldn’t stop herself. But, she felt the heat boil over in the truth that, had she not acted, Sasha would have died. She didn’t care about Joss. She wished the titan had taken his head instead.

Yeah, Levi was terrifying, and she wished she’d refrained from cursing. But the sentiment, her need to protect her friend, she couldn’t take back.

A barking laugh echoed along the walls though Celes nor Levi spoke.

Celes hadn’t realized someone followed Levi down. That her little speech had more than an audience of one until Commander Erwin stepped into view, and Celes paled. Yeah, she had done it now. There was no coming back from this.

“Cadet Leonheart,” Erwin spoke, hands behind his back, “as charming as that speech was, you’re in deep trouble. Joss wishes to go above me if I don’t have you kicked out entirely.” Cele’s stomach sunk. This was all she had. She had no family, no goals or aspirations. Where would she go from here? Nowhere is where. “Lucky for you, with his injury and his sputtering nonsense, we have deemed him too ill-minded to make a rational decision. And so, your punishment is out of his hands.”

Celes’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t imagine what Joss had planned for her, what he requested. But Commander Erwin, well, she didn’t know enough about him to know if he was as sadistic as Joss. And that scared her more than anything.

“So,” Celes said, eyes trained on the ground, “what is my punishment, sir?”

“Oh no,” Erwin replied, “your punishment doesn’t fall on me. It falls to the other captain you disobeyed.”

Holy shit, Captain Levi.

Celes’s gaze locked on Levi, whose face was unreadable, no anger, no smirk, no anything. She couldn’t get anything from his expression, which was more terrifying than her curiosity moments ago about what Erwin might have planned for her.

Because Levi she had heard of. And most of what she heard led her to believe whatever punishment he had in store was going to hurt. Bad.

She just had to get ready.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> Slight BDSM in this one.

Commander Erwin left the two of them alone. Celes couldn’t figure out if he simply didn’t want to witness whatever Levi had planned for her or if he didn’t care. Regardless, with his absence came anxiety in its place.

Levi began opening her cell.

She itched to crawl away, to push her back against the further wall as far as possible from him. But she remained in place. Whatever was going to happen, she wouldn’t show fear or cower away. She’d take it on the chin. 

She had nothing to her name. But she had pride.

Everyone had a reason for being here. Eren vengeance, Mikasa, to protect, Armin, for friendship. But Celes? The only reason she joined was because she was an orphan, no family, no friends, and fighting seemed the only thing she was good at. Why not find a purpose among people whose only goal was to fight the biggest threats in the world? 

What else would she do? Keep running around stealing coin from pockets and bread from vendors? No thank you.

Levi kept his gaze on hers as he entered. And she kept her chin high, as if the closer he got, the more her heart didn’t pound. When he kneeled, brought his fingers to hold her chin, she was sure he could hear it rattling in her chest. 

“I want to clarify something for you,” he said, and Celes barely managed a nod, “I am not punishing you for disobeying Stone.” She blinked, but when she instinctively jerked her head back, he tightened his grip, and her jaw locked. “I don’t care for abandoning my comrades, but I do not endanger a dozen in an attempt to save one. Follow?”

When Celes didn’t move, he tightened his grip even harder. Tears sprung to her eyes. If he kept pressing, he’d snap her jaw.

She managed a nod, and he loosened his grip.

“If it’s a hopeless rescue, you get yourself and your squad killed. If there’s a plan, you wait for your commanding officer to tell it to you.”

“But Joss—“ she started to say how Joss would have left Sasha to die, but the grip was back, and the tightness made her bite her tongue.

“I am a captain. You ignored your commanding officer, and you also reacted without hearing me speak. I was going to get Sasha.” Celes’s eyes widened. The shock was so raw she barely tasted the blood pooling in her mouth. “I would have been quick, would have lured the titans away from everyone else, hid out until it was clear, and got us out. No harm to anyone, but you moved and led everyone who wanted to save you into chaos. And you’re lucky my men hadn’t died because we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Again, understand?”

Celes was quick to nod. She had done this to herself. He was right, she hadn’t waited for him, but she hadn’t expected he’d care about Sasha. In the moment, she just wanted to save her friend. She hadn’t even thought of the possibility of Levi, incredibly more experienced than her, offering to help.

“Hm,” he let her go, and she swallowed as much as the blood she could. “It looks like you can follow orders. Perhaps you just need a firmer leader?”

Hope bloomed in her chest. She thought she ruined her chances, but maybe Levi did see something in her. If she could get on his good side, if she took his punishment without a sound, would he let her in his squad?

“Levi—“

His hand whipped out, gripping the back of her dark curly hair. “That’s Captain or sir.”

“Captain,” she stuttered as he loosened his grip, “I would love to join your squad.”

He let her go, pulling away as if disgusted. “As if I’d want such an insubordinate brat on my squad.” And just like that, all the hope in her deflated. So much for that. “You’re not going to be rewarded for this behavior, cadet.”

His eyes were so dizzying. She was struck again by them, swearing that they moved. Or maybe the single candle-light flickering made it so the silver and blue stirred together. She hadn’t realized she leaned in to get a closer look. Not until his hand came to her face, this time, without violence.  
Instead, he ran a light finger over her bottom lip.

Celes froze. The action sped her heartbeat further, and warmth peeked from behind her cheeks. If she wasn’t in the situation she was in, if it wasn’t Levi Ackerman staring at her somehow managing to look bored and hungry for her to be punished, she’d had thought the touch was a caress. 

He brought his fingers toward his face, rubbing the red on them. “Already bleeding?”

Already? She didn’t want to have already started. She didn’t want to start at all. Joss liked to beat her around, mostly with his fists, or let his men have a go at her. But when Joss was busy, and someone else was in charge of her punishment, she was tasked with simple things like cleaning, tending to the horses, tedious tasks.

She doubted Levi would offer the same.

He hummed, holding his chin in his hands as he took her in. “Joss wanted you naked, publicly whipped, allowing anyone to have a turn.” She could feel the heat drain from her cheeks. She sat as still as possible. “But such tactics do nothing for me. Seems a waste to beat a skilled soldier and have them out of command in case they're needed on a mission. But Stone is not known for his intelligence.”

She would have breathed a sigh of relief if she didn’t see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out what punishment he deemed fit enough for endangering and injuring his men. 

“I wonder,” he said, “what do you think is a fitting punishment for your actions?”

She knew she had to speak, or he’d snatch her up again. But what was she supposed to say? She didn’t exactly walk around thinking about ways to punish people.

“Well,” she said slowly, trying to buy herself time, “I would consider how sorry I am and how I recognize that I was too quick to think about the consequences of my actions and recognize my other captain. And that, essentially, all I wanted to do was save a friend—“

“A punishment, cadet,” Levi said, face tight with impatience.

“—Right, well, something helpful? Helping out at the clinic? I could tend to the soldiers I hurt and any others.”

“Nice try,” he said dryly, “but if it’s not severe enough, whenever Stone gathers himself, he’ll call for your removal.”

She knew that. And knew if she could prove she’d already been severely punished, Joss wouldn’t have cause to kick her out or add anything else to whatever sentence she was given. 

The door at the top of the steps opened, and footsteps clattered along the stone, nearing them.

“That’s right,” she heard Commander Erwin say, joining them again, “Stone wants something painful, something humiliating.”

When he entered the cell, Celes saw he had something in his hands. A whip of some sort. The black rope dense, leathered, and the end a thick ball with dozens of leather strips hanging off it.

No amount of swallowing could rid her of her dry throat.

She was going to be whipped in front of her friends, her peers. Her friends, they’d act like nothing happened, they’d pretend, for her. But she’d see it in their eyes: the pity, the sympathy.

She wouldn’t be able to look anyone in the eye anymore. She only, only had her pride. And they were going to take it from her. How would she walk the halls again? How would she be taken seriously after that?

“Calm yourself,” Commander Erwin said, noticing the panic breathing new life in her, “I’ve read your file, Leonheart, and your incredibly long disciplinary list. One thing is clear from it and from your peers, you like to walk with your head high. I wouldn’t take away your pride from you. We need soldiers with it.”

But Cele's gaze remained on the weapon in his hands, wary of believing him. What was it there for, then? For decoration? To be hung above her like a chandelier? No, Celes knew a weapon when she saw it.

“But,” he said again, sensing her thoughts, “you do need to be punished, and if not humiliated too, Stone will not rest until you are. And he will not be as forgiving as us.”

He held the weapon out to Levi.

Levi raised a single brow as he took it. “Sir?”

“We will not humiliate the cadet in public, but I’m sure it would be humiliating enough to have a captain whip her with his commanding officer by to witness it all.”

The words had shame creeping all over her skin. She couldn’t imagine how she’d feel when they’d actually follow through. And they would, Levi was already nearing her, not one to question his commanding officer.

She had only one hope. That she would remain clothed while it happened.

But Erwin lifted her up and positioned her to kneel. He leaned her forward, the front half of her body on the bed propped against the wall, as hard as the stone digging into her knees. In a swift movement, Commander Erwin’s hands were around her waist, removing her belt.

He moved back, and Levi stood near, gripping the end of her pants.

It was supposed to be less humiliating, and yet, only having the two of them made it worse. The privacy, as if it was only for their enjoyment, had Celes turn to press her cheek on the cold sheets, closing her eyes, waiting for it to be over before it even began.

The hands at the small of her back were rougher, bumpy with scars. They weren’t gentle when they pinched the back of her pants and yanked them down.  
They fell right below her cheeks. Her bare ass was shocked with the sudden cold air brushing over her skin. 

She couldn’t believe this. She was kneeling in a prison cell, ass bare and facing Levi Ackerman and Commander Erwin, bracing to get whipped. Had she stepped into another dimension? Did Joss hit her head that hard?

But, it was still nothing to what Joss liked to do with her. It didn’t come from a place of hate, didn’t come from a gross, cowardly man. Levi and Commander Erwin made it almost transactional as if they did this all the time.

Maybe they did.

There was no countdown. No warning to brace.

She heard movement behind her, and then there was a crack in the air. It was so loud, piercing her eardrum, the pain came after.

And it was pain.

Or so she thought.

Until the second came, and when Levi pulled the whip back, she felt some flesh go with it.

Not the worst pain in the world. But a shock to her bare cheeks. To her whole body that vibrated with every whip. Another lash came down, this one not as painful, or maybe she was already growing numb. She was good with pain, never worried too much about fights or injuries.

When another came, it brought heat with it. A stark contrast between the cold air around her ass, and the line of heat running across one cheek, on to the other, Levi making sure that both were given the same amount of attention.

Another one struck, and she flinched, her body moving forward. She opened her eyes and locked gazes with Commander Erwin. He held her gaze, unblinking. Even as Levi struck again and her fingers gripped the sheets. He watched her, her reaction, and though his face was relatively clear, it was not entirely without emotion. There was something dark, something about his gaze she couldn’t quite understand.

All she understood was when another strike came down, with her gaze still on Erwin, the strike was not painful. Not at all.

It felt good.

The shock of her thought had her turn her face away before Commander Erwin could see it. Before the heat that spread on her cheeks, spotted her in other places. In her face. In her chest.

Another strike, and the heat spread. She cried out and hoped, prayed, that the two of them thought it was in pain. And not because she was burning, burning everywhere, especially below.

She must be losing her mind. How could she enjoy this feeling?

But with another strike, she felt herself tighten. Felt something in her twitch, something like desire. She tried to think of a thousand other things, anything to keep her mind elsewhere, to stop the wetness she could feel trying to leak from her. If she did, if she lost control, she knew because of how she was arched, Levi would see.

And that was a humiliation nobody could come back from.

But with each whip, with each added burn to her ass cheeks, the hotter she got, the wetter she got. She ripped the sheets with her nails, shut her eyes, and tried to think of something, but she couldn’t focus on anything but the assault to her ass, Levi quietly grunting when he struck her particularly hard, Erwin watching with hard eyes.

Another struck came.

And Celes moaned.

There was no other way to interpret the sound. No way to cough, or disguise it, or make an excuse. She shifted her body, but then she felt the liquid in her spill, sliding down her leg where Levi would have a perfect view.

Her heart nearly stopped. No other strike came. Commander Erwin cleared his throat. Levi was silent. 

Celes both wanted to run away and turn around and beg Levi to keep going. She felt insane. She felt on the edge. She wanted much more, but what she needed was help because how did she take her punishment and make it something pleasurable?

The silence stretched. She waited, her heart stuttering, for anything. For anyone to speak. For Levi to finish her off. Something.

Finally, Commander Erwin spoke. “Perhaps she’s had enough.”

Levi spoke from behind her, his voice low and gravelly. “Perhaps.”

And she wished she hadn’t heard it because the sound of it, the ruggedness as if he had to swallow before he spoke as if he nearly choked on the word, had her pussy twitch.

“I’ll be in my office,” Commander Erwin said, “see me when you’re finished, Levi.”

She remained still as she waited for Levi to speak or, hopefully, continue. But he let her squirm, let her remain in the humiliating position before she felt his body press up against hers. His belt buckle pushed against her ass, and she bit back a moan as he pressed his lips against her ears.  
He said, voice low, “This isn’t the end of your punishment, brat.”

And before she could let out another moan, his hand went down her ass, gripping her pants and sliding it back up her cheeks. He shoved her forward on the bed and moved so his warmth no longer pressed against her.

The cell doors slammed shut.

And only when she heard his footsteps disappear and the door up the stairs shut did she move.

Holy shit, what had she done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm for real not updating again until next week now. I just loved this one.
> 
> Also, if anyone knows about the formatting when posting. Can anyone tell me why my italicized words don't work and the format changes when I paste my work? Thank you!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: "I'm going to update once a week."  
> Me: *Updates 3 times in two days*

Celes was allowed to leave the cell soon after her…moment.

Armin was the one who let her out, his orders from Commander Erwin, who told him Celes had been punished and allowed back. Armin asked her how she was, her punishment, and why her face was so red, but she didn’t answer. Wouldn’t answer.

How could she?

Her heart thundered in her chest as they walked the halls of one of the many military buildings. Her gaze darted toward every door, every corner, searching for Commander Erwin or Captain Levi. But, thankfully, she found her way out of the building without spotting either.

But that wouldn’t last.

“Hey,” Armin said, voice concerned, “are you sure you’re okay? You’re walking kind of funny.”

Her face heated, matching the warmth of her ass still stinging from her whipping. From the most humiliating moment of what felt like her life. Which she hated because Celes rarely felt shame. She was confident, skilled, and tried not to cower even in the most dangerous situations.

But confronted with humanity's strongest soldier and commander, she turned into a coward. And then, even worse, she turned into—into something she didn’t even know how to describe. Was there a word for someone who got turned on during a severe punishment with their commander watching?

Yeah, crazy.

“Fine,” Celes said, trying to walk normally even though the pain started at her ass and ran down her leg. It was not pleasurable now that it was over, and she wasn’t driven crazy by lust. Now it was just a literal pain in her ass. “I’m tired.”

“Well, why don’t we get you some food first?”

Her stomach was growling. But lunch was a busy hour, and it’s probably the reason Celes hadn’t bumped into anyone else. Because everyone was in the dining hall, eating, chatting, and waiting to lock their gazes on her and question what happened. She didn’t want to think about seeing Levi or Erwin.

“No thanks,” Celes said as they walked the uneven path outside, turning on a different route than the dining hall. “I’m more tired than hungry.”

“Everyone’s worried about you.”

It came, naturally, the instinct to smirk and charm. Celes poked a finger to Armin’s nose and winked. “Sweet, be sure to tell them I’m fine.”

Before his cheeks thoroughly reddened, Celes started in the opposite direction, toward her cabin. She shared it with the rest of Joss’s squad and a mix of other soldiers. It was three floors, made of stone, and the walls too thin to be able to ever get a good night's sleep.

Celes entered, working her way down the hall and to the third floor. She preferred it because out of the ten rooms, only five were occupied, and Sasha’s was next door. Even though Sasha spent most of her nights sleeping inCeles’s room when she overate at night during one of their late-night talks, or when the nightmares were too much.

When she got to her room, her eyes widened. 

Her room was in tatters. Literally, her sheets were ripped to shreds. Her single dresser was on its back, her clothes soaked in some kind of dye. Glass sprinkled on the floor, and Celes felt her chest tightened.

Under all the glass, she spotted a piece of paper. A single sheet. A letter from her sister who died five years ago. The only thing she had left of the only family she’d ever known.

She dropped to her knees, barely feeling the glass piercing her flesh. She crawled, nearing the letter. More than half of it was stained with the dark liquid that covered her ruined clothing. Only a few words were legible at the bottom and her sister's signature.

Her eyes shut, and she thought of her sister, who shared her tan face, big dark eyes, and athletic yet curvy build. A physical mirror to Celes, though her sister was always more kind, more generous, than Celes ever could be.

She took a moment to breathe in the grief, the heartache.

Then she let the rage overwhelm her. It burned through her, and her vision was framed in red. Joss had to have done this. Or his men. Or even one of Levi’s squad members in revenge for getting two of their own injured.

It didn’t matter who it was. Celes would tear their spines out.

She stormed up and out of her room. She only got a few inches from the doorway before she collided with a hard, unmovable body. She stumbled back, but her anger had her find her balance quickly.

She moved around them, but a hand gripped her arm.

Without thinking, without even taking a breath, Celes pivoted on her feet and sent her elbow into the stomach of whoever had that nerve to be in her way when she was looking for blood.

She made contact, pressed into the hard skin.

But then nails dug into her neck. Her head slammed against the wall, and her toes were scraping the ground, stretching to try and get into a standing position as she was held up by only her neck.

“What,” her head slammed against the wall again as she recognized Levi speaking to her, “the _fuck_ are you doing?”

Blind with fury, Celes kicked out. She got a single hit, one that didn’t even cause Levi to wince before he pushed himself against Celes, his body crushing her chest as he stopped her from being able to kick. She swung an arm, but he caught her, pulling her forward, yanking her arm behind her back. He spun her around and slammed her back against the wall. This time, her cheeks were against the surface, her arm behind her sending pain flares up her neck.

“Calm down,” Levi said quietly, but not weakly, “ _now_.”

Some of her anger subsided. It was forced to when he slammed her on the wall again, and she winced, worried her arm would be pulled from its socket.

She had a temper, but she also had wit. Enough to know a losing battle or when to lash out or reel it in. She let the fight flee her, and took a breath.

Levi kept her at the painful angle as if waiting to make sure she was really calm before letting her go.

And he did, only to spin her around and grip her by the chin.

He brought his face close, his forehead bumping against hers. His lips were barely just a breath away. “First disobedience,” Levi said, his lips nearly against her mouth as his eyes went to slits, “now you attack your Captain?”

Celes had figured out the calmer and quieter Levi’s voice was, the more of a threat was laced in it.

Though her anger waited, still ready to erupt, she had the control to keep it at bay. For now. “I hadn’t realized it was you.”

He raised a brow. “So you meant to attack whoever else would be walking down the hall?”

“If they were who I was looking for.”

He pinched her jaw, and this time when he spoke, his lips did brush against hers, the slightest touch as he kept her face still. “I think we can both agree you got _off_ pretty easy with your last punishment,” he said, and even though she could keep her fury tempered, she couldn’t stop the heat flowing to her cheeks at his reference to her getting turned on by his whipping. “Are you so eager to go another round? Is this some sort of strange way for you to have another go? Because I promise you, it won’t be the same as last time.”

She didn’t want to deal with him or the embarrassment from seeing him, but for the time, her anger swam further away as she dealt with the shame filling her.

“No,” when his grip tightened, she winced and added, “sir.”

“Then what the hell has got you so worked up?”

“My room, sir.”

He let her go, and she appreciated he didn’t need much of an explanation. He heard her and went to investigate on his own. 

He stopped, leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed as he took in the scene.

He spoke casually, “If only you didn’t go around pissing off everyone with a plus, maybe it’d be easier to figure who was responsible.”

No compassion for her. No understanding of her anger. An insult instead. She swallowed a curse that tried to slip through her lips.

He met her gaze, a ghost of a smirk on his lips as if he’d heard the curse anyway.

It must be nice to be a high ranking officer. To be able to say whatever you want, piss anyone you wanted off, without consequence. Humanities strongest soldier or not, had anyone else spoke to her the way he did, nearing a smirk, she’d have decked them.

His eyes narrowed as if he heard it too, and Luci’s heart sped.

“I came to tell you to pack your stuff, but it looks like there’s nothing salvageable here.”

Her chest constricted, and her stomach fluttered with unpleasant nerves.

No, they said she wasn’t going to be kicked out. That she’d be able to stay. Joss couldn’t have been rational enough yet to make such a big fuss. But even if he had, Commander Erwin wouldn’t have let it happen. He said he wouldn’t.

But that was before she moaned in front of him and Captain Levi.

“Levi— Captain, sir, I’m sorry,” she stuttered, trying to make sense of what was happening. Surely her being turned on, regardless of how inappropriate it was, wasn’t cause to kick her out. She’d done so many things, so many things that were way worse, and if this was the way she had to go, she’d never forgive herself. “Perhaps I misheard, but I was under the impression I was allowed to stay after my…punishment.”

“Your punishment?” he repeated, voice slighter higher, “is that what it was?”

There was no way her face wasn’t stained red. All of it heated to the point of burning. He didn’t smile, but she heard the mocking tone easily. He didn’t say it directly, but he was making it clear what he thought of her outburst. He wasn’t impressed.

“Yes, sir. I thought I would maintain my position.”

“You’re not,” Levi snapped, no longer mocking but with an edge to his tone, and Celes felt her heart begin to break. This was it. It was over. “You’re moving squads. You’ll serve under me now. You’ll be staying in my cabin.”

Celes stilled, sure she misheard.

But Levi moved, his hand whipping out as he grabbed the back of her head and brought her back to his face. “Believe me,” he said through his teeth, “I don’t want you on my squad. But Erwin believes you’d be in danger under Joss,” he tilted his head, gesturing toward the room. “Looks like he was right but don’t think you’ll get away with half the shit you did with Joss.”

Celes tried to speak, to say she understood, but he jerked her hard, clamping her mouth shut.

“Shut up,” he snapped, “part of being under me is speaking when spoken to, when given permission. I’m talking. Listen closely. You follow my _every_ command. I don’t care if I tell you to scale this building and jump off its side. Whatever comes out of my mouth, you obey. Understand?” He let go, just enough so she could nod, before tightening his grip again as if he didn’t trust her to follow directions already. “Everything I say goes, and in return, I do my best to keep you alive. The moment you threaten my men, my soldiers,” he said as if he hadn’t just said she was in his squad now. She figured because Erwin was forcing him, he didn’t actually consider her one of his. “I don’t care what Erwin says. You’ll deal with whatever I have planned for you.”

He let her go, and she rubbed the raw skin of her chin. She was sure to bruise if the purple hadn’t bloomed already.

And the anger she so easily kept at bay prickled at her flesh. This was her moneymaker. Even Joss was careful to avoid her face because if she was anything, she was good to look at.

Not only that, but she liked to make herself up, to look at good as possible. She found that if you looked good, flirted, and acted like you didn’t have a care, people underestimated you. And now they’d see she wasn’t entirely what she was she was pretending.

“Asshole,” she muttered without thinking it through.

The silence pulsed in the air. There was a moment she thought he hadn’t heard. That she would skate by yet again.

But this time, there was a smirk on his face. She saw it right before she was pushed up against the wall, his body pressing into hers, every hard part of it, and his hands slammed on either side of her face.

“One thing I’ll make sure to do,” he brought his lips to her ear, and his whisper sent a shiver down her spine. Again, the wrong reaction to the worse scenario. What was it about impending punishment that was getting her off? Or maybe it was the man, pushing himself closer on her, that was the cause. “I’m going to work on that mouth of yours. You're going to learn to be silent, to respect. Even if I have to gag you to do it.”

She didn’t moan. At least she managed to keep that under control. But she shivered again, and she felt her nipples start to harden beneath her blouse. She didn’t understand why her body warmed, why she arched her back to press herself closer to Levi. It wasn’t the time or place.

But she sighed, bending further.

And swore she felt something solid begin to harden where Levi’s crotch met hers.

His mouth was so close to her ear, it was almost like a kiss as he told her, “Follow me, and try to keep yourself dry when you do.” He pulled away, and the heat was still there, along with the mortification. She knew he saw, in great detail, how wet he made her during her whipping. Even now, she felt it readying again, and she knew if he simply pressed a hand to her, he’d feel how wet she was even with her pants still on.

Before she could say anything, even if she managed to find a coherent thought, he gestured to a nearby window. “It’s raining outside.”

He started off, and Celes took a moment to watch as he walked, knowing his reference wasn’t about the weather outside.

And wondered how the hell she was going to serve under a man she literally and figuratively wanted to be under. Unclothed. With him inside her.

How was she going to survive this?


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will poor Celes's neck ever get a break from Levi wanting to throttle her? Probs not.

Levi Ackerman was a first-grade asshole.

She didn’t think she’d receive special treatment for being the newest member of his squad. And a part of her expected he would even go further, pushing her to make sure she’d be able to keep up with him and his squad. Regardless of how skilled she was, she had never worked under him and didn’t know the trainer's intensity. And the biggest issue was finding her place among a team who already knew how to fight alongside each other without tripping over another.

But Levi was working her to the bone. More than every other soldier.

It had been a week and a half, and he left her little room to adjust to a captain who _actually_ trained his soldiers. With Joss, they ran a few laps, went over a few fighting maneuvers, but because he was such a coward who rarely went on missions, he was most often missing during training. He’d leave them with his first, another useless soldier who just sent them to the training grounds to flail about.

But Levi had structure. The training was intense. He had her strap weights to her ankles, stomach, and arms to build her speed and weight training. He only had her fight with Mikasa, who Celes _knew_ she could take in a regular match. But when she was carrying fifty extra pounds on her sore and bruised body from the regimen Levi had her do two hours before training even started, she wasn’t exactly at her best.

This meant after suffering for hours trying not to vomit or pass out, she got to end her days getting her ass beat.

She held her bleeding nose after Mikasa slammed the end of a blade into Cele's face. And usually, she didn’t blame Mikasa for going as hard as she did on her. She appreciated it. She didn’t want her to hold back, and she admired the fighter enough to try and learn from her.

But she heard her bones crunch and knew her nose was broken. It was the last straw.

She’d been obedient since Levi shoved her in the room at the opposite end of the hall as his. (Which, the location being in the higher-up's hall gave her a nicer room, but the privilege was only because Erwin insisted Levi be nearby in case someone tried to recreate the mess of her old room or worse.)

Levi was blatantly harder on her than he was anyone else, and still, she kept her mouth shut. When he added weights to her as she finally started to adjust to the heaviness, she only grunted. She never rolled her eyes when he told her she couldn’t even do a push-up correctly. She had been the perfect soldier without any praise or acknowledgment.

But her fucking face.

Her beauty, an attribute she wielded like a skillset, was ruined. Her body was worse, bruised in various purple and yellow. Still, she could cover that up. But her face? What if her nose didn’t set correctly?

Mikasa held out a hand to help her up, the start of an apology on her lips, but Celes slapped her hand away.

“I’m fine,” she said, removing the straps of the weights at her ankles. She barely heard herself. The other soldiers grunted, swinging blows, some laughing as they messed around with their partners. But a buzzing roar began in Celes’s skull.

When she got herself to a stand, she took off the stomach weight.

Levi’s voice came from behind her. “What are you doing, cadet?”

She knew he was talking to her. He referred to everyone else by their names, but she got cadet, brat, or sometimes nothing but a glare.

Hearing the voice of the one that was the cause of all her pain had her tone a whip. “What does it look like?” After she spoke, she had to spit out blood. It was running down her nose fast, and she could taste only the copper of it as it flowed.

A beat of silence. Then he spoke, and Celes wondered how she heard him when the words were as quiet as they were. “I didn’t say your training was over. Put the weights back on.”

“No,” Celes said simply, removing the weights on her wrists.

“Put the fucking weights back on,” he whispered fiercely.

Which made Celes’s blood boil over. She ripped off her final weight and whirled, throwing it toward Levi. He batted it away before it made contact with his nose, her aim perfect.

He was on her in a second, his fingers around her neck. For a breath, his grip was tight enough he snatched the breath from her. But it was brief, and he let go quickly, his eyes narrowing on her face.

“Yeah,” Celes spit out blood as she spoke, “am I not allowed to leave if I broke a fucking bone?”

His eyes flashed when she cursed, but he gently cupped her face as he said. “This barely counts as an injury,” and before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her nose with his thumb and pointer finger and snapped it back into place.

Celes cried out as the pain spread to the back of her skull. Tears flooded her eyes. Her vision was spotted, and she pressed a hand over her still-bleeding nose.

“What the fuck?” she cried out as Levi watched her, “you could have given me a warning, and God, couldn’t you have left it for one of the nurses? What if you did it wrong and it sets in the wrong place.”

She could feel tears threaten as it went silent through the training grounds. She felt the soldier's gazes as hot as where the pain in her nose throbbed.

“A soldier shouldn’t care about their appearance, brat,” Levi shrugged, “besides, if it sets crooked, it’ll build character.” He smirked, the movement mocking. He knew she cared about how she looked and knew how upset she was.

It took every bit of self-control she had not to swing at him. Granted, he’d probably dodge and hurt her in moments. But the instinct was to give him a matching nose, to hurt him in any way.

But she couldn’t. Even if she was quick enough, she knew she was on thin ice. From Erwin's kindness, she was allowed to be here and couldn’t insult him by getting into trouble again.

Which was the most embarrassing thing of all. Getting mistreated, getting her ass handed to her, and not able to do anything about it.

She couldn’t stop a tear from spilling down her cheek. She wiped it quick enough, but Levi’s eyes followed it down her face, his jaw setting.

She thought the moan was the most embarrassing moment that could have happened but having her captain, a captain who hadn’t want her in the first place see her cry, beat even that.

“Go clean yourself up,” he snapped, “you’re dismissed.”

Shit, would he tell Erwin she was too much of a wimp to be a soldier? She _never_ cried. It just wasn’t in her. She had full control of her emotions when it came to that. But with her injury being her fucking nose, it was a physical reaction she couldn’t help. She might have felt like crying, but on any other day, she could have held it back.

She made her way to her cabin, her new place that had a garden wrapped around it, and the halls were significantly more extensive and cleaner. It took her longer to find her way to her room than in her previous cabin.

The only good thing about living in the new space was that she had her own personal bathroom instead of Sasha stealing her toiletries and offering to brush her hair all the time.

She stripped down and took a shower. The water stung on every bruise and wound she had. Which meant her entire body hurt as she scrubbed the blood away.

When she was finished, she put on an oversized shirt and pants since Levi didn’t care about finding her clothes that were her actual size. She nearly searched for makeup to cover up whatever stain was on her face. But she was fearful if she saw how it looked, saw a crooked, purple mess, she’d march into the dining room and bash Mikasa and Levi’s face in.

So she headed out to the dining hall where everyone already was, laughing and chatting because they weren’t the ones with a swollen nose and bruised ego.

She meant to just grab some food and eat it alone in her room. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for company. But as she tried to sneak past the rows of filled tables and rowdy soldiers, Sasha jumped up, flailing her hand around.

“Celes, come join us!”

Celes frowned and tried to pretend she didn’t hear. But Sasha neared her, and as Celes went in the other direction, she noticed Levi and Erwin walked her way. Levi was too busy speaking to Erwin to see her, but Erwin caught her gaze and smiled, giving her a slight nod.

Celes reddened and figured Sasha was the lesser embarrassment and let her grab Celes to lead her to the table with the rest of the squad.

But of course, where Sasha placed her, she had a full view of Levi and Erwin as they sat at the table directly across them, facing her. Perfect.

Everyone spoke to her, greeting her, telling her hair looked nice or asking how she liked the meat and were so obviously trying not to talk about the incident that she sighed.

“Look,” she gestured to her face, “I broke my nose, the captain set it back, I had a moment. Let’s acknowledge it and move on.”

Everyone grew silent as they smiled warily at her.

Jean, who sat on the other side of her, broke the silence. “You know,” he grabbed her chin gently and had her face him as he inspected her face, “I think it makes you look kind of hot. Like a battle scar.”

The table laughed, and Celes perked her lips and blew a kiss his way. She and Jean always flirted. He was of the few people who didn’t blush or stutter, but he bantered back and forth with her.

He raised a brow. “Better not do that or I’ll lean in and make it a real kiss.”

Celes, pleased with the compliment and happy to think of anything other than her embarrassment and shame from the day, brought her face closer to his.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

His eyes heated, and she knew Jean had a real thing for her. They joked around but never took it any further, but Celes couldn’t lie. Now that he’d grown some stubble on his chin and hair was long, she found that attraction wasn’t so one-sided.

“You wouldn’t dare, not with an audience,” Jean challenged,

Sasha and Connie shouted, “Do it! Kiss!” Like they were a couple of eager kids.

Celes gripped the collar of Jean’s shirt. “Wanna bet?”

Jean swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing. Still, there was a hint of disbelief in his tone, “Bet.”

And it’s all Celes needed.

She yanked him to her, pressing her lips over his. His shock lasted a moment before he kissed her back, grabbing her neck and bringing her even closer. The table cheered, and wolf-whistled and Celes worked her tongue in his mouth.

He let her in, his own tongue eager to do the same to hers. Warmth spread down her spine, and she felt it reach her core as he brought her closer, her body nearly over his lap. She moaned, and fell further on him, felt something hard poke up from his pants.

And then she was snatched away by the back of her hair, several stranding ripping from her skull as she was pulled to a stand.

Levi stood, his eyes blazing and a vein peaking at the side of his neck. “Just what the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing?” His voice was quietly lethal, spreading chill where her body heated only seconds ago.

Celes wiped her bottom lip with her thumb. “Well,” she said as he pulled her hair harder, bringing her face closer to his, “I _was_ having a good time before you interrupted.”

“My room,” he brought himself so close to her face for an insane moment, Celes thought he meant to kiss her too. “ _Now_.”

But his tone brought her back to reality, and she didn’t understand _why_ , only knew that she was in deep shit now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was waiting this entire time to mention Jean's chin hair, and what about it????

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be updating every week! Maybe. If anyone even likes this.


End file.
